Southern Song Hall and Sun Wu Shrine

In the northwestern corner of Guangrao County, the Southern Song Hall was constructed in 1128 (the second year of the Jianyan reign period of the Southern Song Dynasty). Originally it was the Guandi Temple which was built to worship Guan Yu, one of the most popular commanders in the Three Kingdoms. Compared to other commanders, Guan Yu tried to minimize war and confrontation as much as possible. Not only a messenger of peace in ancient time, his bravery and loyalty became a legend in Chinese history. When captured by Sun Tzu, Guan Yu refused to switch his allegiance. With the special architectural style of the Song Dynasty, this hall provides precious data for the study of China’s wooden architecture in middle ancient times. Sun Tzu Shrine, a classical memorial garden, was constructed with the Southern Song Hall situated in the center. The hall maintains a unique architecture style of Song Dynasty. In front of the middle hall stands a tall stone statue of Sun Tzu, the author of the Art of War, one of the greatest books in Chinese history which has been studied by many Eastern as well as Western scholars.